Borisoglebsk Pre-Trial Detention Center No. 2

Pre-trial detention center No. 2, located in the central part of the city of Borisoglebsk in the Voronezh oblast, is a place where systematic war crimes are committed. According to available information, Ukrainian prisoners of war and illegally detained civilians are subjected to brutal torture and abuse within the walls of this facility.

According to former prisoners, torture is systematically used in Pre-Trial Detention Center No. 2 in Borisoglebsk. One of the most common methods is setting dogs on prisoners, which left them with serious injuries. The released Ukrainians recalled that for local dog handlers, this process was like entertainment.

In addition, there have been reports of daily physical abuse, the use of electric shocks, and sexual violence. According to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, investigative actions have been conducted with 62 people who were held in this place of detention. The vast majority of them confirmed the facts of systematic inhuman treatment and various forms of torture.

Information about medical care at this place of detention remains unknown. However, there is testimony that as a result of torture, prisoners suffered serious injuries that required treatment. Serviceman Andriy said that due to constant physical violence, his body was completely covered in bruises.

Once a week, prisoners were taken outside to breathe fresh air. However, such walks were accompanied by beatings and electric shocks. They were forbidden to walk upright, only in a “dolphin” position: head down, arms up. Visits to the bath were also accompanied by violence. There is no information about food in this detention center.

Setting dogs on prisoners in Pre-trial Detention Center No. 2 is not only a method of inflicting physical harm, but also a form of psychological abuse. Such actions disorient and intimidate prisoners, causing them significant stress.

“Most of the former prisoners claim that they were subjected to ill-treatment. This includes various types of abuse: physical harm, electric shocks, dog bites, and sexual violence. This is a series of facts that point to a system of unlawful actions operating in Borisoglebsk Pre-Trial Detention Center No. 2. However, it is obvious that this is not some isolated place separate from the rest of the system. It is the same kind of place that has been created in many colonies and pre-trial detention centers in the Russian Federation and the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine,” said Taras Semkiv, representative of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.

“Olenivka seemed like a strict regime pioneer camp to us,” compares former POW Andriy the conditions in the Borisoglebsk pre-trial detention center and in Volnovakha Penal Colony No. 120 in the occupied Olenivka, Donetsk region.